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“Bringing our state together will take some time, but I hope to start right away,” Walker told supporters Tuesday night. “It is time to put our differences aside and figure out ways that we can move Wisconsin forward.”

With the win, Walker avoids becoming the third sitting U.S. governor kicked out of office early.

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His supporters said his victory reflects the will of a “silent majority” of voters unbowed by months of union-led protests.

Indeed, it was a divisive vote that saw almost $80 million spent — the vast majority of it by Walker, whose effort was largely bankrolled by out-of-state conservative billionaires such as the Koch brothers and Nevada gambling tycoon Sheldon Adelson.

The contest attracted international coverage with journalists from around the globe descending on a place better known its dairies, breweries and the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.

Because U.S. President Barack Obama, a Democrat who won Wisconsin by 14 percentage points in 2008, will almost certainly have to hold the state to be re-elected in November, Republicans viewed this race as a test run for their presidential nominee, Mitt Romney.

This rare election was triggered by a petition signed by almost one million Wisconsin residents — almost twice as many as legally required for a recall — after Walker declared war on public-sector unions upon taking office last year.

Faced with a $3.6-billion deficit, he stripped teachers and most other public employees — though, notably, not police or firefighters — of collective bargaining rights.

While that shortfall is now a $150-million surplus, many Wisconsin residents are uncomfortable with the new political reality in a traditionally progressive state.

In an interview with the Toronto Star earlier Tuesday, Barrett said people in this Midwestern state aren’t happy that their governor is “the rock star of the far right.”

“From Scott Walker’s perspective, he wants to make it a national election because he’s bringing in millions and millions of dollars from out of state. That’s why he’s tried to nationalize it,” said Barrett, who lost to Walker in 2010. “For me, it’s about Wisconsin values, and that’s where I started this and that’s where I want to end it. I want Wisconsin voters to decide our policies.

“I don’t want to be the Petri dish for the Tea Party or the right wing of this nation.”

While Barrett estimates he was outspent by seven to one, he knew the election would be close.

“The people of Wisconsin are smart. They know there’s something fundamentally wrong when their sitting governor raises 60 per cent to 70 per cent of his money from out of state,” he told the Star. “They know there’s something fundamentally wrong when their governor is the only governor in this country that has a criminal defence fund. It just doesn’t sit well with people.”

But Barrett cautioned against reading too much into the national implications of this vote, regardless of the outcome.

“The spin-masters on both sides will do whatever they can for it,” he said.

“This is purple state or a blue state,” said Dittrich, referring the mix of Republican red and Democratic blue. “But this has really energized the base of the Republican Party.”

In an interview at Waukesha County Republican headquarters, Dittrich said the recall effort was an affront to voters of all political stripes.

“People feel Gov. Walker did nothing criminally or legally wrong. He signed a bill into law and abided by the state constitution.”

Kaley Weichert of nearby Heartland said Walker deserved another shot.

“He’s reformed the state, broken the unions and balanced the budget,” Weichert, who is unemployed, said over a seltzer at Fuzzy’s sports bar, a popular hangout for Packer fans. “My mom is a teacher and she voted for Walker, too, because she believes everyone should do their part.”

But Gil Lopez of Waukesha said the governor “has tried to pull us a little too far to the right.”

“This is a democracy,” said Lopez, an engineering technician. “And he has shut out a lot of people.”

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